hundred tons burden, and is frequented by a great number of vessels in
the coasting-trade, as well as by others in connexion with London,
Liverpool, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork, Bristol, and various port-towns in the
United Kingdom. The principal exports consist of slate and copper-ore,
the inland transport of which has been greatly facilitated since the
construction of the railway. The imports are chiefly colonial produce,
Birmingham and Manchester goods, and various articles of
home-consumption from the London markets. The quay and harbour of
Caernarvon, which formerly presented serious obstacles to the shipping
interest on account of the _bar_ at the entrance, have been so improved
that the danger, if not entirely removed, is at least so far diminished
as to excite little apprehension for the safety of the ordinary craft in
connexion with this port. To defray the expense of these public works,
Government has levied additional port-dues; and it is much to be wished
that, in all other harbours of difficult or dangerous access, the same
advantages could be obtained on similar conditions.
The town is now, agreeably to the Municipal Act, divided into two wards,
and governed by a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors. In
addition to the picturesque civic retreats already alluded to, as giving
so much animation to the native scenery, the neighbourhood is
embellished with the baronial seats of the Marquess of Anglesey, Lord
Boston, and Lord Newborough. The ruins of Segontium, several Roman
stations, part of a military road, and a considerable number of
primitive domestic edifices, are among the chief objects of antiquity
which deserve the attention of visiters to this neighbourhood.
[Illustration: HARLECH CASTLE.]
HARLECH CASTLE,
NORTH WALES.
"The tower that long had stood
The crash of thunder and the warring winds.
Shook by the slow but sure destroyer--Time,
Now hangs in doubtful ruins o'er its base."
Harlech Castle, according to the Welsh historians, derives its origin
from Maelgwyn Gwynedd, prince of North Wales, who flourished at the
commencement of the sixth century. The present castle appears to have
been rebuilt by Edward I., on the foundations of the original fortress,
portions of which are still observable in the masonry of the latter
epoch, so well known as the "castle-building reign" in England. In the
reign of Henry IV. the castle was seized by Owen Glendower, but was
retaken four years later; and, after the battle of Northampton, in 1460,
afforded temporary shelter to Margaret of Anjou.
In 1468, the castle of Harlech was captured, after a short siege, by the
Earl of Pembroke; of whom Sir John Wynne, in his history of the Gwydir
family, quotes some Cambrian lines expressive of the ravages committed
by him in the counties of Merioneth and Denbigh at that unhappy period.
The last of the many tempestuous scenes with which this fortress has
been visited occurred in 1647, when William Owen, with a garrison of
only twenty men, surrendered it to Cromwell's forces under General
Mytton; but this was not accomplished till every other castle in Wales
had deserted the royal cause.
This castle is a strong square building, with a round-tower at each
angle, and one of the same form at each side of the gateway. Besides
these there are four other turrets, smaller and higher, which rise above
the towers at the angles, and are in a more dilapidated state. The
entrance is under a pointed arch, which formerly contained six gates of
massive strength and construction. Although the roofs, doors, and
casements of this interesting stronghold have long disappeared, it still
presents in the distance an air of even habitable preservation. There
are the remains of stone staircases in every tower, and in the area one
of these, leading to the top of the battlements, is still entire. In
all the rooms fire-places, with pointed arches, are visible, as well as
window recesses, which in the state apartments are three in a row, and
of spacious dimensions; while those in the smaller rooms gradually
contract outwards till they terminate in a "slit" or loophole, as in
most other castles of this style and period.
The view of Harlech Castle is among the finest in this picturesque and
interesting country; the situation is commanding, and the effect of
these venerable towers and battlements, as they first burst upon the
traveller's eye, is strikingly bold and impressive. His fancy is hurried
back to the days of other times: the shades of native harpers and native
heroes flit before his eye; history and romance divide the empire of his
mind; and for a time he rests with mute but intense interest on these
castellated landmarks of Cambrian history.
The rock upon which the fortress is built rises from the Gamlas,--a
level marsh, resembling water in the distance, nearly a mile in breadth,
and which it is probable was once covered by the sea. On the side
overlooking this marsh, the rock is precipitous, and steep at either
end. In front it is on a level with the town of Harlech, from which it
is separated only by a deep trench or moat, and overlooked by a group of
magnificent mountains in the rear, from which the view is sublime. The
whole platform of the rock is occupied by the castle, except a narrow
belt of about four or five feet in width, forming a beautiful green
path, which winds round the outer walls, skirting the very brink of the
precipice.
The town of Harlech is an ancient free burgh, and originally one of the
chief places in the county of Merioneth. It is now reduced to the
condition of a secondary village, has a corporation governed by a mayor,
is one of the polling-places for the county members, and is enlivened
during the year by several periodical fairs and weekly markets.
Various objects of antiquity have been discovered from time to time in
the neighbourhood of Harlech. In 1692 an ancient gold _torque_ was dug
up in a garden near the castle. It is in the form of a wreathed bar, or
several rods twisted together, about four feet long, flexible, bent in
the form of a hat-band, neither sharp nor twisted, but plain, evenly
cut, an inch in circumference, and in weight about eight ounces. This
interesting relic is an heir-loom in the Mostyn family. Several coins of
the Roman empire have also been found in and near this town, which
afford indisputable evidence of its great antiquity. The distance of
Harlech from London is two hundred and twenty-nine miles.
[Illustration: BARMOUTH.]
BARMOUTH:
OR, ABERMAW.
"Here, beneath the mountain's brow,
Hygeia hears the pilgrim's vow;
Here the breath of summer seas,
The balm of morn, the evening breeze,
The charms of a romantic land,
Refresh and gem the Cambrian strand,--
Where still the muse of Cymry lingers,
And strikes the harp with raptured fingers."
Barmouth, the only port in Merionethshire, occupies a romantic situation
at the mouth of the river Mawddach, where the tide at high-water forms a
bay of about a mile across, but rather hazardous, owing to the shifting
sandbanks by which the channel is interrupted. Overhung by lofty
mountains, which leave no adequate space for the horizontal expansion of
the village, the houses appear to hang almost perpendicularly from the
steep side of the cliffs, so that the chimneys of the one appear to be
the foundation of the other. They form eight successive tiers or
terraces, to which there is no better approach than by steps hewn in the
rock.
This romantic village, which consists of only one irregular street, is
much frequented as sea-bathing quarters, for which it has every
accommodation, and, in respect to bold and picturesque scenery, has few
rivals in the whole Principality. The sea-beach affords every facility
for pedestrian exercise; the walks along the banks of the river are
numerous, and command the most striking points of view; while regular
assemblies, and some of the best Cambrian harps, promote social
intercourse and hilarity among the visitors, and give a stir and
animation to the whole neighbourhood.
Barmouth, says Mr. Roscoe, is considered to the north-west part of the
kingdom, much like Weymouth and other fashionable watering-places to the
south, and is resorted to during the summer months, not only by numbers
of families in the Principality, but by many others residing in the
surrounding counties. The sands are very fine and hard, extending along
the beach for several miles, and the bathing is at all times as
excellent as can be desired. The restless tides of the Channel dashing
against the surrounding coast produce that constant and salubrious
motion, which is extended to the waters of the bay. There are two
convenient inns, the "Commercial," and the "Cors y Gedol Arms," besides
a number of respectable lodging-houses.
The town has the benefit of weekly markets, with an excellent supply of
fish and poultry, at a cheap rate, and is further enlivened by two
annual fairs, in October and November. The native manufactures consist
chiefly of flannel and hosiery, a great quantity of which is exported.
The other _exports_ consist of corn, butter, cheese, oak-bark, timber,
&c.; the _imports_, of coal, culm, and other articles for the use of the
interior.
The number of small coasting-vessels, and others belonging to this haven
that trade with Ireland, is stated at a hundred or upwards; and
commercial business, upon the whole, is considered to be in a
flourishing state.
The distance of Barmouth from London is two hundred and twenty-two
miles, and it communicates with Caernarvon by a cross-mail. The resident
population is considerably under two thousand, but is greatly augmented
during the bathing season. The shipping at the pier communicates to the
place a particular air of prosperity and cheerfulness, and gives
employment to a very considerable portion of the inhabitants.
"The beauties of the road from Llanilltyd to Barmouth," says Mr. Pratt,
"are so manifold and extraordinary that they literally beggar
description. New pastures of the most exuberant fertility, new woods
rising in all the majesty of foliage, the road itself curving in
numberless unexpected directions,--at one moment shut into a verdant
recess, so contracted that there seems neither carriage nor bridle-way
out of it, and at another the azure expanse of the main ocean filling
the eye. On one side, rocks glittering in all the colours of that beauty
which constitutes the sublime, and of a height which diminishes the wild
herds that browse, or look down upon you from the summit, where the
largest animal appears insignificantly minute. On the other hand,
plains, villas, cottages, or copses, with whatever belongs to that
milder grace which appertains to the beautiful."
[Illustration: SWANSEA BAY.]
SWANSEA BAY.
GLAMORGANSHIRE.
"In front, the Bay its crystal wave expands,
Whose rippling waters kiss the glittering sands
Far o'er its bosom, ships with spreading sails
Export the _ores_ from Cambria's sunny vales.
Above--yon feudal bulwarks crown the steep,
Whose rocky base repels the stormy deep;
Here health is found,--there Industry resides,--
And Freedom on her native shore abides."
The reputation which Swansea has long enjoyed as a delightful
watering-place has suffered no diminution in consequence of the numerous
rivals with which this coast is so agreeably diversified. As bathing
quarters, it enjoys peculiar advantages in its shore, which is admirably
adapted for that purpose; while the adjacent scenery, and the various
objects of interest or curiosity with which it abounds, serve as
pleasing incentives to exercise and recreation,--the happy effects of
which are soon observable in the health and appearance of invalids who
make choice of Swansea as their summer residence. Every resource which
visitors can desire, for promoting either health of body or agreeable
occupation for the mind, is here amply provided. Warm, sea-water, and
vapour, baths,--public rooms, billiard-tables, reading-rooms,
circulating libraries,--with comfortable private lodgings and excellent
hotels, are among the list of daily luxuries at their command.
The Harbour of Swansea is capacious,--well constructed, defended by two
strong stone piers, about eighteen hundred feet in length,--and affords
accommodation to a great many trading-vessels. On the west pier, a
light-house and watch-tower offer additional security to the shipping;
and every facility is provided for lading and unlading. The tide flows a
considerable way up the river, which is navigable to the extent of two
miles for vessels of burden. The canal, running parallel with the river,
extends to Brecknockshire, a distance of sixteen miles; and in its
course passes through thirty-six locks, and over several aqueducts. Its
head is nearly four hundred feet higher than its mouth, which readily
accounts for the great number of locks. There is also a canal from the
Swansea to the Neath canal, on which a packet-boat is established, and a
_tram_-road from the former to Oystermouth. With Bristol and Ilfracombe
there is a regular communication kept up by means of steam-vessels,
which leave and arrive according to the state of the tide.
The public buildings of Swansea--ancient and modern--are numerous in
proportion to the population. The Town-hall, erected in 1829, is an
elegant structure, approached by two flights of steps, and adorned with
columns of the Doric order. The castle, situated nearly in the centre of
the town, was originally a building of great extent, and of a strength
well suited to the purposes of its erection. A massive tower, surmounted
by a range of light arches which support a parapet, is the principal
part now remaining of this once redoubtable fortress. It appears to have
been founded at the remote epoch of 1113, by Henry Beaumont, Earl of
Warwick,--a Norman leader who conquered Gowerland; but being soon after
laid siege to by a Welsh chief,--Griffith ap Rhys ap Theodore,--a
considerable portion of the outworks was destroyed. It is now in the
possession of the Duke of Beaufort, "Earl" of Glamorgan, who is
hereditarily entitled to the "prisage and butlerage" of all wines
brought into the harbours of Swansea and Chepstow.
The public rooms of Swansea stand on the north side of the promenade,
called the Burrows, which consist of several acres tastefully laid out
in parterres. Here also are an excellent House of Industry and an
Infirmary, established in 1817 and situated on the beach. Besides the
free Grammar-school, founded in the seventeenth century, by Hugh, Bishop
of Waterford and Lismore, there are the Lancasterian and
National-schools, which are incalculable blessings to the increasing
population of Swansea.
[Illustration: OYSTERMOUTH,
(Swansea Bay.)]
OYSTERMOUTH CASTLE.
"Here--the 'grim-visor'd knight,' at the head of his band,
Has cased him in armour, and girt on his brand;
While Beauty looked down from her lattice on high,
With the 'smile on her lip and the tear in her eye.'
But victor nor vassal shall hither return:--
The castle is roofless,--the chief's in his urn;
And those ramparts, that frown o'er the surf-beaten rocks,
Are the haunt of the sea-fowl,--the lair of the fox."
This stately relic of the feudal ages overlooks the picturesque Bay of
Swansea, and attracts many strangers to its gate,--not only for its
venerable antiquity, but for its bold position on the verge of lofty and
abrupt limestone cliffs, which command a magnificent view of the
subjacent scenery. It is supposed by some to have been erected by the
Earl of Warwick, in the reign of Henry the First; by others, to have
been the family fortress of the Lords of Gower, in the reign of King
John. But to which of the two the credit of founder belongs is matter of
conjecture. Like the Castle of Swansea, already mentioned, it is now the
property of the Beaufort family, whose mineral possessions in this
district are said to be of incalculable value.
The principal walls of this domestic fortress have suffered
comparatively little from the lapse of time, or the hand of violence.
Most of the original apartments may be easily traced out, so as to give
a tolerably correct idea of their shape and dimensions, and the internal
economy with which they were arranged. The general figure of the main
body is polygonal; the ramparts are lofty and massive, but not flanked
with towers, except at the entrance, which appears to have been strongly
secured by double gates and a portcullis.
In many parts along this picturesque coast, the limestone rocks swell
over a fine sandy beach into perpendicular cliffs of great boldness,
exhibiting vast quantities of organic remains, and worn in many places
into deep and lofty caverns. Built on a cliff of this description, and
with all the necessary accessories of vigilance and security, it could
have been hardly possible to have selected anything more eligible for a
feudal keep, whose chiefs generally chose their fortalices as the eagle
chooses his eyry,--to secure a wide field for himself, and exclude
lesser birds of prey.
The village of Oystermouth--about half a mile to the south of the
castle--occupies a beautiful position on the verge of the Bay. A lofty
rock throws its shadow over it; the headland of which, called the Mumble
Point, stretches far into the sea, and affords a safe anchorage for
shipping. The village is chiefly inhabited by fishermen, who, as the
name implies, are mostly employed in dredging for oysters, which are
found of superior quality in the adjoining bay. During summer, it is
much resorted to by strangers, for the benefit of sea-bathing,--a source
of annual revenue to the inhabitants, who, by letting their apartments,
secure very good returns.
This is understood to be the natal soil of Gower,--the father of English
poetry,--and therefore classic ground:--
"Here, in the olden time the 'moral' GOWER
Attuned his harp upon that rocky strand;
Gather'd the shell, and pluck'd the vernal flower,
And struck the wild chord with a master's hand.
To him the summer sea, the stormy wave,
Were heaven-born music in their various keys;
As, thundering through yon subterranean cave,
The billows sang in chorus with the breeze."
The railway from Oystermouth to Swansea is a source of great convenience
to the inhabitants, as a means of ready intercourse between the most
frequented points of the coast adjacent. Newton, proverbially known as a
healthy station for invalids and sea-bathers, and Caswell Bay, within
half-an-hour's walk of Oystermouth, are well deserving of a stranger's
attention. The latter is remarkable for the number and extent of the
marine caverns already alluded to, as well as for the beauty and variety
of the sea-shells with which the sands at low water are profusely
enamelled.
[Illustration: THE MUMBLES ROCKS AND LIGHTHOUSE.
(Swansea Bay.)]
THE MUMBLES' LIGHTHOUSE.
"Amidst the storms,--when winds and waves are high,
Unmoved I stand,--undimm'd I shed my light;
And through the blackness of December's sky
I pour effulgence on the seaman's sight."
INSCRIPTION FOR A LIGHTHOUSE.
The Mumbles' Lighthouse is much frequented by visitors from Swansea
during the season. Few jaunts of this character can be productive of
more enjoyment than a trip from Swansea to Oystermouth Castle and the
Mumbles' rocks. The road, issuing from the western extremity of Swansea,
follows the shore of the bay, with the open sea on the left, and on the
right a range of wooded hills; of which advantage has been taken for the
site of numerous pretty villas. Some gentlemen's seats occupy the
intervening level, and their plantations skirt the high-road. Of these
Singleton Abbey and Woodlands are the principal. As we near the
extremity of the bay the scene is indeed beautiful. Oystermouth Castle,
and the pretty village of the same name, lead the visitor onwards till
he reaches a broken, breezy headland, the only ascent to which is by a
kind of sheep-path, which zig-zags its way to the summit of a narrow
promontory terminating in two islands, and on the farther of which is
situated the Mumbles' Lighthouse. It is a structure admirably adapted
for the purpose to which it is devoted. To every building of this
description, devoted to the preservation of human life, a profound
interest is attached; and we cannot but observe at a single glance how
invaluable these Lights have been, and ever must be, where the danger of
shipwreck is so greatly increased by the rugged nature of a coast--here
walled in by precipitous cliffs, and there scattered with rocks that
appear and disappear according to the tide. The means thus happily
adopted along the Welsh coast have been crowned with success; and how
comfortable is it to reflect, when calmly seated at our winter hearths,
that--while the "winds howl round our steady battlements," and "ships
break from their moorings,"--there are friendly lights sparkling around
our coasts, to cheer and direct the bewildered mariner in his course, to
show him his danger, and to point out "a way to escape."
To understand the importance of lighthouses, we need only remind the
reader of the published "Statement," that the number of British vessels
alone, which have been annually returned as wrecked, amounts to _five
hundred and fifty_;--namely, "three shipwrecks every two days throughout
the year." The average burden of merchant-vessels is about one hundred
and ten tons; and if we value old and new together at half the price of
building, we have L330,000 for the worth of the whole, which, by
deducting the value of sails, masts, and other materials saved from some
of those stranded, may be reduced to L300,000. If we add an equal sum
for the cost of the cargoes, the whole loss from shipwrecks will amount
to L600,000. This statement proceeds on an old estimate from 1793 to
1829; but M'Culloch, in the supplement to his Dictionary, says that the
number of ships actually lost, or driven ashore, in 1833, amounted to
_eight hundred_. It is probable, then, that the annual lost by shipwreck
is not much short of a _million sterling_. If _one-fifth_ of this loss
could be prevented by additional lighthouses, the saving of money would
amount to a _million_ in five years,--to say nothing of the still more
important saving in human life. We are anxious--not on the score of
economy only, but of humanity--to place these lamentable facts before
the eyes of Government, from whose hands the mitigation at least, if not
the removal, of such disasters is confidently expected.
In the rock immediately under the lighthouse is a large cavern, called
Bob's Cove,--a very characteristic feature, and a chief attraction to
pleasure-parties, who resort hither at low water for the sake of the
view, which from this isolated point is very striking and variegated:--
"Town and hamlet, sea and shore,
Wooded steep and mountain hoar;
Ships that stem the waters blue,
All concentrate in the view."
Expanding to the eastward, is the beautiful curve of Swansea Bay and the
distant mountains; on the westward, the broken coast of Gower; in front,
the boundless expanse of ocean. The bracing sea breezes inhaled upon
this exposed promontory, its elastic turf, and the magnificent prospect
it everywhere commands, never fail to produce a most agreeable and
salutary exhilaration, and constitute the finest medical and physical
tour in the world.
[Illustration: NASS SANDS LIGHTHOUSES.
(near Bristol.)]
THE NASS SANDS LIGHTHOUSES.
"After our ship did split,
When you, and that poor number saved with you,
Hung on our driving boat, I saw your brother,
Most provident in peril, bind himself--
Courage and hope both teaching him the practice--
To a strong mast that lived upon the sea,
Where, like Orion on the dolphin's back,
I saw him hold acquaintance with the waves
So long as I could see."
TWELFTH NIGHT.
The Nass Lights were erected by the late Mr. Nelson, in 1832, under the
direction of the Trinity House. The eastern, or upper Light, burns at
the height of one hundred and sixty-seven feet, and the western, or
lower one, at one hundred and twenty-three feet above high-water mark.
They are one thousand feet apart, built of the stone of the country, and
stand on Nass Point, near Dunraven Castle, Glamorganshire.